One of the schools nearest to home that fits that criteria is Colorado, about a seven-hour drive or one-hour flight north.

Pounds knows a lot about the Buffs. His high school team camps in Boulder each summer and he has become familiar with the campus and coaching staff. He could be just what the CU defense needs, a big man in the middle to stuff the run and demand double teams.

"I like them a lot," he said of the CU staff. "The campus is really nice, too. I wouldn't mind going to Colorado."

Pounds said seeing the Buffs have a little more success on the field next fall would make him like the program that much more. Like a lot of prospects, he'll be taking a wait-and-see approach with CU during recruiting over the next year. He can afford to because it looks like he will have some options.

Pounds said seeing the Buffs have a little more success on the field next fall would make him like the program that much more. Like a lot of prospects, he'll be taking a wait-and-see approach with CU during recruiting over the next year. He can afford to because it looks like he will have some options.

Click to expand...

I think we are going to see a lot of this this year. Players see a trend and it isn't a good one. Guys want to play where they have a chance to win and if this team goes sub .500 and Hawk is still here they will have have more than a trend to base their decision on. He will get more offers as time goes on but even if he doesn't from a football standpoint NMSU at least wins some games, this may be a hard year to watch recruiting in.

Could make the trek to Albuquerque to see this guy. NMBuff lives in Albuquerque I think, maybe he has some insight on this guy?

Click to expand...

The only HS game I've seen here in Albuquerque was Las Cruces HS vs El Dorado in the state championship last year (I'm an LCHS grad). We kicked their ass up and down the field.

I may check in on this guy during the season. I always love watching HS FB, but it's hard to drag others down to a game. If the coaching staff gives him more attention and we offer I'll definitely go check him out. NM is a place where there aren't a lot of CFB prospects, but the northern part of the state should be a CU or TT lock, imo, for those that are. The southern part of the state would always be a hard get.

Only team I saw in Albuquerque was La Cueva several years ago, they were pretty good at that time dont know about now. If we offer, Ill go check him out as well. I can see Aztec anytime so gonna go watch Hegarty some more. I hear its a lost cause though.

2011 class will be a good class thanks to Hawkins' rebirth or a good class thanks to the excitement surrounding the new coach. Pretty much everything between now and mid October is meaningless.

Click to expand...

Last two classes have been down compared to what Hawk was pulling in earlier but this year could we could be competing with Northern Colorado for kids. Our best hope is that Hawk gets fired earlier than expected and kids see an opportunity to step in with a new coach.

Two years ago Hawk could use the "We are young and just around the corner from winning" line. Even last year he fed kids the same line as he fed the media "We just have to clean up some little things and keep some guys healthy and we will pop." Some of the kids he got this last class are kids they have been working for two years.

This years class sees two straight 3-9's with some embarassing performances mixed in. The "little things" line is going to be a lot harder to pull off.

The point is that if they see that, they'll also have a new coaching staff. And that will bring in a lot of recruits.

And if they don't see a bad season, recruits will see that Hawk was right about how close CU was to turning the corner. And that will bring in a lot of recruits.

I also think that a Pac 12 announcement would create a lot of excitement and help our recruiting.

Click to expand...

Obviously as a Buff fan I would love to see Hawk finally get it together and we start to win, and yes if that happens then recruits who like Boulder and like the idea of being Buffalos will say to themselves that the team is on the way and they can be a part of it. On the other hand if the season starts as a disaster and Hawk gets fired early or announces his resignation then the kids can see their chances with a new staff, especially if the admin doesn't drag its feet and gets someone hired by November giving a couple of solid months to solidify a class before LOI day.

The problem comes if the team ends up winning 4-5 games and the admin starts waffling about trending the right direction and doing the right things. Then kids will see a team that is still a loser (no bowl for 4 straight years = loser) with a coach that isn't going to turn things around and probably stays another year or two before being replaced meaning that they get a coaching change in the middle of their careers. This scenerio could result in recruiting disaster for us. Even if eventually Hawk gets fired in December or January the damage will have been done.

It's interesting to note that Embree found this guys teammate and recruited him to CU. That puts Pounds and his 310 buddy Tyler Eshulman squarely on Embree radar. I've heard some talk that Benson may budge on non-qualifiers as long as its kept to a minimum and JE takes full responsibility for their progress. If Embree does go for a few non-qual's then surely a pair huge DT's would be highly desirable.

Landing these 2 guys would considerably change the center of power in the south for years to come